“The Liberals seem determined to learn from their rejection by voters. I hope that they will cut their ties with the science deniers and work with all members of the Assembly,” says letter writer NOEL BAXENDELL, of Holt.

Citizens in a democracy are entitled to hold views on anything. 

They also have the important freedom to argue for their beliefs, no matter how absurd. They can argue that the world is flat to people who fly around it.

Successive ACT governments have won popular mandates for a light rail network. The ACT was in fact designed by Walter Burley Griffin with satellite town centres connected by trams.

With a Labor government re-elected, I hope that the new Liberal leadership will finally listen to voters and support this important job-creation project in these difficult economic times.

The Liberals misread the determined opposition from a small group of climate science deniers as widespread community opposition to light rail.

There was no “business plan” for a tram. It needed to be evaluated against other carbon-reduction measures. The tram was low-hanging fruit compared with carbon capture and storage from coal and gas-fired plants or feeding seaweed to livestock.

It was for this reason that taxpayers from outside the ACT were picking up half the cost of our carbon-neutral transport plan.

The Liberals seem determined to learn from their rejection by voters. 

I hope that they will cut their ties with the science deniers and work with all members of the Assembly to ensure that this important project survives a Dutton government.

Noel Baxendell, Holt

ATO charged me for paying my tax bill!

If the Australian government is serious about removing charges on cards, debit or credit, it could begin with the Australian Tax Office. Paying my tax this morning and using a debit card (=cash) I was charged for the transaction. On what basis can the Australian Tax Office, an arm of government, charge me for paying my bill? 

It’s time to remove these charges Mr Chalmers. I don’t pay them when using my card in the UK or European countries, why here in Australia?

Gerdina Bryant, Watson

Trump is promising a hotter world

Paul Dorin’s cartoon in Robert Macklin’s column “Trump might be a plus for the good guys” (CN, November 14) features a young boy asking his father: “Do you think he (Donald Trump) can make Australia great again?”. 

An honest answer to that question could be: “Probably not: he might make Australia poorer and hotter”.

Trump’s policy of “America first and America alone” could result in Australia becoming a barely recognised vassal state caught in the crossfire of a trade war with China as Trump imposes punitive tariffs of up to 60 per cent on imported Chinese goods. This would inevitably cost Australia dearly.

Perhaps most important is Trump’s view of climate change as “a hoax”, or “a scam”, depending on which way the dice fell, his oft-repeated motto “drill, baby, drill” for more fossil fuels, his vow to withdraw (again) from the Paris Agreement; and his clear intention to do away with all environmental protection and regulation. 

Trump is promising a hotter world, and Australia will probably suffer the heat more than will the US.

Donald (“dictator for a day”) Trump is not just a danger to US democracy, he is a clear and present danger to Australia and the world.

Dr Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

Strap yourself in for a wild ride with Trump

Robert Macklin’s column (CN November 13) on the outcome of the US presidential election, is certainly food for thought.

I have American relatives, and I know how concerned they are about the next four years.

In the months leading up to the election, I opined that, whatever the outcome, the result would be a lose/lose.

Should Trump have lost, the response of his supporters would have made January 6, 2021, seem like a children’s birthday party by comparison, and now he has won, the implementation of Project 2025 has the potential to not only have a deleterious effect on the US, but also the rest of the world. 

Regrettably, many of those who supported Trump as they felt disenfranchised, will be the ones to suffer the greatest from the introduction of tariffs and the subsequent inevitable increase in the price of goods, whether they be imported or locally manufactured, followed by the inevitable rise in inflation.

If we thought Trump’s first term was a wild ride, then strap yourself in for this one. With Musk and Vance among those having Trump’s ear, anything is possible.

Ian De Landelles, Murrays Beach, NSW 

Simple solution to roadkill concerns

There’s a simple solution to Susan Cruttenden’s concern about wildlife killed by traffic (“Dead wildlife would have concerned the King”, CN letters November 13).

Fit an electronic Shu-Roo to your vehicle if you frequently drive at dawn or dusk when wild animals come to the road verges for the green-pick.

Don’t bother with the cheap “whistle” variety, as they only work at speed. They don’t project deterrent, high-frequency, non-audible sounds like the electronic ones.

Prevention is better than punitive police methods. Shu-Roos also deter camels and prevent vehicle damage. I can vouch that they are a worthwhile investment.

Anthony Horden, Jamison

We have rejected the natural law

Jon Stanhope (“We need a hard look and ask, is this who we are?” CN November 7) cites two examples in which our elected governments are responsible or complicit in human tragedies. 

He sees David McBride in the same vein as a martyr and believes we are convicting our criminals to rot in jail.

When Jon Stanhope quotes Alexander Maconochie that “you cannot recover a man except by doing justice to the manly qualities he may have” he is acknowledging a humanity that we all share and that runs to the core of our being.

There is a story told about the late Kerry Packer who earlier was revived from a near death experience and said: “There’s nothing on the other side. No one’s waiting to judge us. So you can do whatever you f..king well like.”

This is pretty much where we are at. We have rejected the natural law, the bedrock of Western civilisation. Our socially conditioned intuitions arise from each person acting on his or her core feelings. Ethics is about giving the most happiness to the most people involved. There will be injustice.

John L Smith, Farrer